Method of and machine for use in the manufacture of prewelted shoes



Nov. 3, 1936.

v K. ENGEL METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PREWELTED SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fil ed March 29, 1955 NUV. 3, 1936., ENGEL I 2,059,218

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR'USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PREWELTED SHOES Filed March 29, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

2 VE/V Tm? r )1 E v) AK Patented Nov. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PREWVELTED SHOES Application March 29, 1935, Serial No. 13,718

19 Claims.

The present invention relates to methods of and means for use in manufacturing boots and shoes and is herein illustrated in its application to the manufacture of pre-welted shoes, that is, shoes in the. manufacture of which the welt is stitched to the upper before the upper is lasted.

In the manufacture of such shoes it is usual to assemble the upper on a last and to pull the welted margin at the toe end of the upper, and usually also at the: sides of the forepart, height.- wise of the last and inwardly over the last bottom, and to secure the welted margin at the fore-- part of the upper in pulled over position by means of tacks driven through the welted margin of the upper and into the margin of the last bottom; The use of tacks to hold the upper in pulled over position on the last is a prolific source of damage to lasts and the cost of repairing and replacing lasts which have been damaged in this way is a substantial item of expense in the manufacture of pre-welted shoes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of retaining pre-welted uppers in pulled over position without driving fastenings into the last and, further, to provide a method which Will serve its purpose without sacrificing any of the advantages of prior methods of manufacturing such shoes. Accordingly, the invention in one of its important aspects consists in an improvement in methods of making pre-welted' shoes which comprises pulling the upper over the toe end of a last and retaining the upper in pulled over position on the last solely by the tension of a welt which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of the last.

It is a further object of the invention to improve and facilitate the operation of pulling over prewelted shoes in order to'decrease the cost of this operation and also to perform more uniform work than can be expected in pulling over prewelted uppers by means of hand pincers in the manner now commonly practiced in the manufacture of such shoes. With this object in View the invention, in another of its aspects, consists in suspending a pre-welted upper upon members which engage the inner surface only of the welted margin and pressing a last into the upper while the upper is so suspended. Preferably, the rear part of the upper is manually supported while the forepart only of the upper is supported upon said members and, if desired, the forepart of the upper may be presented to the upper suspending members before assembling the upper on its last, in which case, after the upper is suspended upon 3 said members, the rear part 9f the last is positioned in the upper and thereafter the forepart of the last is forced into the forepart of the upper while the forepart of the upper is suspended.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a simple machine which, if desired, may be manually operated to perform the work which is now performed by hand pincers in the pulling over of pre-welted shoes. With this object in View the invention contemplates the provision in a machine for making pre-welted shoes of members for supporting a pre-welted upper in inverted position, said members being arranged to extend upwardly from the interior of a supported upper for guiding engagement with a last during its introduction into the upper. In the illustrated organization gaging means is provided for determining the position of the upper heightwise thereof relatively to the supporting members. In accordance with a further feature of the invention the upper-supporting members are herein illustrated as sharpened fingers constructed and arranged to engage the inner surface of the welted margin of a pre-welted upper, said fingers in the illustrated organization being associated with a resilient concave plate or horn for guiding a last during heightwise movement thereof to position the last within a suspended upper. Preferably the machine is provided with a last-depressing member for forcing the last into a suspended upper, and. the last-receiving horn is arranged to extend generally heightwise of the suspended upper, the portion of the horn which is intersected by the plane of the longitudinal median line of the upper preferably having an inclination rearwardly of the supported upper whereby the last is caused to move rearwardly of the upper during its depression and the sharpened fingers or claws carried by the resilient plate are caused to penetrate the upper thereby to grip and hold the upper during the pulling over operation.

These and other aspects and features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bench machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the forepart of a pre-welted upper, the margin of the upper at its toe end having been gathered to form a hollow in the forepart of the upper;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the forepart of a pre-welted upper, as illustrated in Fig. 2, held by the upper-suspending member of the ma- 55.

chine illustrated in Fig. 1, a portion of the lower end of the last-depressing member being shown in its retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine parts shown in Fig. 3 and a pre-welted upper and last arranged therein, the upper and last being supported for the pulling over operation, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a pre-welted upper in pulled over position on a last, the toe end of the last and upper being broken away to show more clearly the relative positions of the welted margin of the upper and the margin of the toe end of the last bottom.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the illustrated machine comprises a frame or bracket l0 secured to a bench or table l2, the forward portion of said bracket being provided with a vertical guideway Within which is mounted a slide l4, said slide being retained within the guideway by a plate I6 secured to the bracket ID by screws I8. Mounted on a lug 20 extending forwardly from the plate I6 is a resilient upper-supporting member or born 22 which is arranged to extend downwardly from the lug 20 and to incline rearwardly of an upper supported thereon. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the horn 22 is composed of a bifurcated member having fingers 24 formed in its lower ends and a plate 26 overlying the bifurcated member and having formed in its lower end fingers 28 similar to the fingers 24. The ends of the fingers 24 and 28 are turned outwardly under the welted margin 32 of the supported upper 34 and the ends of said fingers are sharpened to provide workpenetrating members or claws 38 (Fig. 4). The fingers 24 and 28 are made as thin as practicable in order to avoid unnecessary displacement of the welted margin 32 of the upper 34 from its last during the pulling over operation. In order to gage the position of the welted margin 32 work-gaging members 36 (Fig. 4) are formed in the respective fingers 24 and 28 by splitting the ends of the fingers and bending one section of the split end of each of the fingers into welt-engaging position as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Referring now to the last-depressing means, there is mounted at the upper end of the slide I4 an arm 38, the major portion of which extends rearwardly of the supported upper from the slide and has secured to its end a downwardly extending last-depressing member or presser foot 40 the lower portion of which has a transverse curvature corresponding generally to the curvature of the toe ends of lasts of the type commonly used in the manufacture of infants shoes, the lower end face 42 of the presser foot inclining upwardly and rearwardly of the last 44 (Fig. 4) in order to cause that portion of the presser foot nearest to the toe end of the last to engage the last during its depression. The presser foot 40 is normally held retracted, as i1- lustrated in Fig. 1, by a compression spring 46 contained within a vertical bore 48 extending substantially the entire height of the forward portion of the bracket I0, the upper end of the spring 46 being seated in a socket 50 extending upwardly from the under surface of the extension 52 of the arm 38. The normal retracted position of the presser foot 40 is determined by the engagement of a head 54 at the lower end of the slide 14 with the bottom faces of the downwardly extending portion 56 of the bracket in and the adjacent under surface of the plate IS. The presser foot 40 is manually actuated by a treadle 58 which is connected to the lower end of the slide l4 by a link 6|].

One method of manufacturing prewe1ted shoes in accordance with the present invention consists in providing an upper, such, for example, as the upper 34 illustrated in Fig. 5, with a welt 64 which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of the last 44 on which the upper is positioned. The provision of a welt of the desired length may be effected in any convenient manner. One method of providing such a welt is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,618,729, granted February 22, 1927 on an application of John H. Richardson. The method of the Richardson patent consists in tensioning a rubber welting as it is stitched about the toe end of the upper thereby to provide a length of welting about the toe end of the upper which, in its normal condition, is substantially shorter than that portion of the lasting margin of the upper. After the welt has been stitched to the upper it is allowed to retract to its original length, thereby gathering the overlasting margin at the toe end of the upper and forming a last-receiving hollow in its forepart. If desired, the welt may be made of material which is capable of only a slight extent of stretching, such, for example, as leather. It has been found that leather welting, when in temper, has sufficient resiliency to lend itself to this method of assembling the welt and upper of a pre-welted shoe provided a substantial strain is placed on the welting as the welt-stitching operation progresses about the toe end of the upper. A convenient method of tensioning leather welting during the stitching operation without requiring overexertion by the sewing machine operator is to pass the welting around the goose neck of the sewing machine before bringing it to the stitching point, the friction of the welt as it is drawn about the goose neck of the machine providing sufficient resistance to impart the desired tension to the welt. A slight tension imparted to the welt by the operator on the supply side of the goose neck serves to maintain a suitable frictional engagement of the welt with the goose neck and when it is desired to release the tension, for example during the progress of the stitching operation along a side of the upper, the operator need only release the slight manual tension on the welt on the supply side of the goose neck and'the welt will be stitched to the upper in its normal retracted condition.

The upper 34 is positioned relatively to the horn 22 of the illustrated machine by bringing the welt 64 into engagement with the work-gaging members 36, as illustrated in Fig. 4, while manually supporting the rear portion of the upper. The upper is manually tensioned lengthwise thereof sufficiently to cause the claws 30 to engage the inner surface of the welted margin at the toe end of the upper in the region of the welt seam 68, thereby supporting the forepart of the upper in predetermined position heightwise thereof for the reception of the forepart of the last. While the rear part of the upper is manually supported and the forepart of the upper is supported upon the horn 22 the heel end of the last 44 is moved downwardly and rearwardly into the heel end of the upper, in which position the rear part of the last is manually supported by the operator while the toe end of the last is supported upon the horn 22 as illustrated in Fig. 4. The operator then actuates the treadle 58 thereby bringing the presser foot 40 into engagement with the toe end of the last and forcing the forepart of the last downwardly into the forepart of the upper. As the forepart of the last moves downwardly from its position illustrated in Fig. 4 it slides against the fingers 24 and 28, thereby stretching the upper lengthwise thereof and simultaneously spreading the upper widthwise thereof at the forepart for the reception of the last. The pressure of the last against the fingers incidental to the stretching and spreading of the upper causes the claws 30 to penetrate the interior of the welted margin of the upper and thereby to grip and to hold the forepart of the upper in a heightwise position predetermined by the engagement of the welt with the gaging members 36. As the forepart of the last passes downwardly beyond the ends of the fingers 24 and 28 the pressure on the fingers is released and further depression of the presser foot 40 thereafter merely insures the disengagement of the forepart of the upper from the claws 38 without loss of time and without any considerable effort.

As the last 44 is pressed downwardly through the space enclosed by the welted margin of the upper, the welt 64 is drawn taut and a substantial tension is imparted thereto. As the last comes to the limit of its depression into the upper, the welted margin is left projecting above the last bottom and the welt contracts and shortens, thereby drawing the welted margin at the forepart of the upper inwardly over the margin of the forepart of the last bottom. It has been found that the resistance of the welt to extension thereof may be depended upon to hold the upper in pulled over position on the last without the aid of tacks or other upper retaining means.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes in the manufacture of which the overlasting margin of the upper is provided with a welt which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of a last corresponding in size to the upper, the material of the welt being only slightly stretchable, which method comprises pulling theupper over the toe end of the last and retaining the upper in pulled over position on the last solely by the tension of the welt.

2. That improvement in methods of making pro-welted shoes in the manufacture of which the overlasting margin of the upper is provided with a welt which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of a last corresponding in size to the upper, which method comprises assembling a pro-welted upper on a last, pulling the welted margin at the forepart of the upper heightwise thereof toward the last bottom, employing the tension which is imparted to the welt in pulling it over the periphery of the last to draw the welted margin inwardly over the margin of the toe end of the last bottom, and retaining the upper in pulled over position on the last by the resistance of the welt to extension thereof.

3. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes inthe manufacture of which the toe end of the upper is gathered to form a hollow for the reception of the last and to permit the employment of a welt which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of a last corresponding in size to the upper, which method comprises assembling the upper on a last, pulling the upper over the forepart of the last without appreciably displacing the welted margin from the last, and employing the welt to retain the upper in pulled over position on the last without the aid of other retaining means or fastenings.

4. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which consists in suspending a pro-welted upper upon members which engage the inner surface only of the welted margin, and pressing a last into the upper while the upper is so suspended;

5. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes in the manufacture of which the overlasting margin of the upper is provided with a welt which is substantially shorter than the periphery of the bottom of a last corresponding in size to the upper, which method comprises suspending the upper upon members which engage the inner surface of the welted margin, pressing a last into the upper while the upper is so suspended, and retaining the upper on the last by the tension of the welt.

6. That improvement in methods of making pro-welted shoes which consists in manually supporting the rear part of a pre-welted upper while suspending the forepart of the upper upon members which engage the inner surface of the welted margin, positioning the rear part of a last in the rear part of the upper, and forcing the forepart of the last into the forepart of the upper while the forepart of the upper is suspended.

7. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which consists in manually supporting a pre-welted upper, presenting the toe end of the upper to upper-suspending means constructed and arranged to engage and penetrate the inner surface of the welted margin, positioning the heel end of a last in the heel end of the upper, and pressing the toe end of the last into the toe end of the upper while the upper is so suspended.

8. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which comprises engaging the interior only of the toe end of a pre-Welted upper in the region of the welt seam and thereby holding the upper from movement heightwise thereof while the toe end of a last is pressed into the toe end of the upper. I

9. That improvement in methods of making pro-welted shoes which comprises manually supporting a pre-welted upper, engaging the interior of the welted margin of the toe end of the upper and thereby holding the toe end of the upper from independent movement heightwise thereof, positioning the heel end of a last in the heel end of the upper, imparting relative movement to the toe end of the last and the toe end of the upper heightwise thereof thereby to position the toe end of the last in the toe end of the upper, and simultaneously guiding said relative movement of the last and upper. I

10. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which comprises manually supporting the heel end of a pre-welted upper, gripping the upper by the Welted margin at its toe end only, and moving a last heightwise thereof toward the upper thereby simultaneously forcing the last into the upper, moving the last rearwardly of the upper to stretch the upper lengthwise thereof and increasing the gripping action on the welted margin at the toe end of the upper.

11. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which consists in suspending the toe portion of the upper upon members which engage the inner surface of the welted margin and moving a last heightwise thereof relatively to the suspended upper thereby simultaneously forcing the last into the upper, moving the last rearwardly of the upper to stretch the upper lengthwise thereof, and causing the upper-engaging members to penetrate the inner surface 0 the welted margin.

12. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which consists in gaging the po sition of the upper heightwise thereof relatively to upper-suspending means constructed and arranged to engage the inner surface of the welted margin, drawing the upper rearwardly thereof in order to cause said suspending means to engage the interior of the welted margin at the toe end of the upper thereby to hold the toe end of the upper from independent movement heightwise thereof, positioning the heel end of a last in the heel end of the upper, and forcing the toe end of the last into the toe end of the upper while the upper is so suspended.

13. That improvement in methods of making pre-welted shoes which consists in gaging the position of the upper heightwise thereof relatively to upper-suspending means constructed and arranged to engage the inner surface of the welted margin, drawing the upper rearwardly thereof in order to cause said suspending means to penetrate the interior of the welted margin at the toe end of the upper thereby to hold the toe end of the upper from independent movement heightwise thereof, positioning the heel end of the last in the heel end of the upper, and forcing the toe end of the last into the toe end of the upper while the upper is so suspended, the depression of the toe end of the last into the toe end of the upper terminating as the bottom of the toe end of the last passes through the plane defined by the upper-engaging portions of the upper-suspending means.

14. In a machine for making pre-welted shoes, members for supporting a pre-welted upper in inverted position, said members being arranged to extend upwardly from the interior of a supported upper for guiding engagement with a last during its introduction into the upper.

15. In a machine for making pro-welted shoes, members for supporting a pre-welted upper in inverted position, said members being arranged to extend upwardly from the interior of a supported upper for guiding engagement with a last during its introduction into the upper, and gaging means for determining the position of the upper heightwise thereof relatively to said members.

16. In a. machine for making pre-welted shoes, sharpened fingers constructed and arranged to engage the inner surface of the welted margin of a pre-Welted upper thereby to hold the upper from independent movement heightwise thereof.

17. In a machine for making pre-welted shoes, a resilient concave plate for guiding a last during heightwise movement thereof, and sharpened fingers carried by the plate for engagement with the interior of the welted margin of a pre-welted upper thereby to hold the upper from independent movement during movement of the last heightwise thereof to position the last within the upper.

18. In a machine for making pre-welted shoes, sharpened fingers for supporting the forepart of a pre-Welted upper, said supporting fingers extending heightwise of the upper from the inner edge face of its welted margin for guiding engagement with a last during its introduction into the upper.

19. In a machine for making pre-welted shoes, a resilient concave plate for guiding a last during heightwise movement thereof, and sharpened fingers carried by the plate for engagement with the interior of the welted margin of a pre-welted upper thereby to hold the upper from independent movement during movement of the last heightwise thereof to position the last within the upper, said resilient plate extending generally heightwise of the upper supported thereon, the portion of said plate which is intersected by the plane of the longitudinal median line of the supported upper having an inclination rearwardly of the supported upper whereby the last is caused to move rearwardly of the supported upper during its heightwise movement, thus drawing the upper lengthwise thereof and causing the fingers carried by the resilient plate to penetrate the upper.

KARL ENGEL. 

